Jones & Keefe: Taylor Kyles explains what to make of Christian Gonzalez's season

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00:00You mentioned Gonzalez.

00:01I know you said it's about more than just the wide receivers

00:03and the cornerbacks.

00:04What kind of year do you think Gonzo had?

00:07I think it was a solid year for a player of his caliber,

00:12given everything that happened, right?

00:14You're in a brand-new defense that's very different

00:16from the one that you've been in for the rest of your career.

00:18It's more similar, actually, to what he did in college at Oregon,

00:21where they played a lot more of those match zones

00:23that the Patriots play now.

00:25But that was years ago, right?

00:27So it probably took him a while to really adjust

00:29and get his feet back under him, kind of knock that rust off,

00:31like riding a bike, right?

00:32It's just different schemes, but you're going to one you were in in college.

00:35So there's a scheme change.

00:37There was a hamstring injury where he missed time.

00:39So I want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

00:41I also think that he's come on stronger later in the year.

00:43I think kind of early, when he first got back,

00:45you saw some of the cracks.

00:47Lost some matchups kind of in the middle to late part of the season

00:49that I didn't love, but he's been much more stable in coverage.

00:53The only thing that bothers me, and it's a bit nitpicky

00:56given you're talking about a shutdown corner,

00:59is teams have been running at him for weeks now.

01:01Like, if you look at the charts and it says,

01:04okay, the opponent ran what direction,

01:06a lot of the times it's left towards Christian Gonzalez

01:09because teams are trying to force him to make tackles on the perimeter,

01:12take on pulling linemen, and really be the physical guy that he can be.

01:16He's more than capable of,

01:18but we all remember the shoulder injury he suffered as a rookie.

01:20So, I always, you know, feel a little shaky when he's put in those situations.

01:26So, I mean, but at the end of the day, you're a football player.

01:28You have to come through in those situations.

01:30I think he has at times.

01:31I think he hasn't at others.

01:33And I know run defense isn't really what you want to talk about at corner,

01:36but I think it has been significant and could be maybe a factor down the road

01:39when his contract comes up.

01:40So, again, I think it's been a solid year.

01:43You expect Christian Gonzalez to be a pro bowler every year

01:45as long as he's remotely healthy.

01:47But I'll be honest, I don't think he lived up to the heights that he did last season.

01:50And I think the biggest place you see that is in the lack of turnovers.

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